1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to cooling of a large scale information handling systems and in particular to cooling of a modularly-constructed and expandable infrastructure housing large scale information handling systems. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to enabling modular scaling of cooling and/or heat exchange facilities within an expandable, modular information technology facility (EMITF).
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Large scale information handling systems exists as server farms that are typically housed in a pre-built physical structure designed to host a pre-set number of racks and associated cooling and power systems. A modular data center, for example, typically includes (i) a known physical dimension that allows for a specific maximum number of server racks and (ii) associated pre-constructed and/or in-built cooling mechanisms and (iii) a pre-configured maximum available power supply to maintain the operational viability of the IT gear being operated within the data center. When additional processing capacity is required or desired by a customer, a new data center is constructed, often at another location, with a new building or structure required to house an independent set of server racks, IT gear, and cooling and power systems. Each such data center is constructed at substantial cost that does not scale with or directly correlate to the amount of additional processing or storage capacity desired by the end customer, as the entire new physical facility has to be constructed or purchase and then remotely connected (e.g., via a network) to the previous facility.